Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review — a true iPad rival

The Samsung Galaxy Tab range is back and, like its smartphone offerings, you have choices to make. The stylish new tablet comes in an Ultra version (a massive 14.6-inch screen size and a price that will make you weep a little) or the more manageable but still mighty S11.

It’s the latter that we have been taking for a spin recently — its 11-inch screen size matches its name nicely — and there is a lot to like about this tablet and S Pen combo… especially if you are looking for something that isn’t made by a certain fruit-based company.

Here’s what you need to know…

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11: In Short

• What is it? Samsung's latest premium tablet
• What's the battery life like? Around 10 hours which is not too shabby
• Size: 165.3 x 253.8 x 5.5mm (which is really thin)
• OS: Android 16, with a Galaxy One UI layer on top
• Screen Size: 11 inches

11 inches is the perfect tablet size

When it comes to the Tab S range, you know the quality levels are going to be high. It’s Samsung’s top range of tablets and the build is spot on. It’s as slim as they come, at just 5.5mm thick (exact measurements are: 165.3 x 253.8 x 5.5mm) and it weighs 469g.

It’s an all-metal aluminium shell, which looks gorgeous and it comes in two colours: Grey and Silver (reviewed).

There is some lovely detailing around the edge of the back of the chassis that adds some curve appeal to the device. Also on the back is a single-lens camera (13MP) and a flash.

There are three charging points at the bottom of the tablet, so it can be used on a wireless charger and the Samsung logo in the top left of the back. There are also speaker slits on each side of the tablet and a USB-C charger.

When using the tablet it was pretty clear that 11 inches is the just-right size. It was spot-on for general work stuff but really popped when we started watching things on it…

The screen is a streaming powerhouse

The screen is fantastic. It’s an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display which has a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate. That is… impressive. But it’s not the best bit: Samsung have upped the nits of the screen, so its brightness has been upped from 930 nits to an incredible 1,600 nits. As upgrades go, that’s pretty impressive.

There’s a High Brightness Mode (HBM) on the tablet which works well — it punches up 1,000 nits which gives the screen a good deal of legibility when using it outdoors.

But back to Netflix. When the HDR10+ kicks in the picture quality is superb. It’s a shame Dolby Vision isn’t supported but things look incredibly detailed. Add to this Dolby Atmos support and this is a portable powerhouse that made me stop watching Monster: The Ed Gein Story on my phone and stick to the tablet. I really should have just stopped watching, to be honest, but there’s no accounting for taste here.

The 120Hz refresh rate is decent, too. Scrolling through myriad apps and it’s all buttery smooth.

Performance is slick, battery plentiful

Some may sniff that Samsung is using a MediaTek 9400+ processor in its premium tablets but that’s mostly because Qualcomm is damn good at grabbing all the headlines with its Snapdragon processor.

This is as premium as they come, though, and offers a decent amount of grunt and made sure that when we played a number of CPU intensive games, the tablet didn’t falter (although it did get a touch warm).

Playing the likes of Final Fantasy VII on the thing was superfun and pretty power intensive but it didn’t bother the S11 in the slightest.

When you have to put your business hat on, the switch to DEX is nice and seamless, thanks to Samsung’s One UI 8 offering up a decent layer on top of Android 16. There are some other nice software flourishes, too, including the ability to resize windows, quick app access and a decent slathering of Galaxy AI. You can use this to summarise web pages, collate notes easier, offer up writing prompts and you can doodle away and then transform these drawings into fully realised AI entities. It’s a lot of fun, even if the whole AI thing still feels a little like you have to search for things to do, rather than automatically doing it.

As for battery life, we got around 10 hours before having to recharge — and that was blasting through a number of features. Charing takes a bit of time, but give it 90 minutes and it should be back to 100%.

The S Pen is mighty, but has been mightier

One of the USPs of getting a Samsung laptop is the S Pen. Now, it’s worth noting that the S Pen doesn’t attach to the tablet in any way — it’s not like how it used to disappear into the body of the Note — but one is included and it’s a fantastic accessory, even if it feels a little downgraded this time around.

It feels decent in the hand at least, with its new flatter edges. And it has a larger nib, too, which is decent for sketching. But there’s no Bluetooth support which is a shame — this means that gestures are limited and haptic feedback is no longer a thing. And it doesn’t magnetically attach to the tablet either.

That said, drawing with the S Pen is a joy and the S11 is a lovely canvas for all of our terrible doodles.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11: Final Verdict

A tablet is never going to have the ubiquity of a phone, but Samsung is proving with the S11 range that it is still an essential device and one that moves closer to usurping the laptop as our productivity tool of choice.

This Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is a great upgrade: it’s slimmer, brighter, more powerful and packed perfectly with both software and hardware upgrades.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is available now from £799.